


Fragmented Star Systems

by nephilimswitchlight



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Child Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader Redemption, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Luke Skywalker Needs A Hug, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Darth Vader, Protective Darth Vader, Slavery, Suitless Darth Vader, Tatooine Folklore (Star Wars), Tatooine Slave Culture (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-21 19:21:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30026631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nephilimswitchlight/pseuds/nephilimswitchlight
Summary: Time is a relative thing. Was seven years a long time? To spend with the love of your life, it was not near enough and Vader didn't even get half of that. To spend them serving an Empire and master you hated though was far too much, yet he had been forced to do so. Was four a better length of time? For a young boy to be a slave, it was even worse and little Luke Skywalker had endured so much in that seemingly insignificant amount of time.On the day that Vader learns his son lives, and has lived under the control of Jabba the Hutt at that, both of these situations change. The fate of the galaxy changes with them.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Beru Whitesun, Anakin Skywalker & Luke Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Beru Whitesun, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader
Comments: 19
Kudos: 91





	1. Discovered in the Sand

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I have read almost every story under the Tatooine Slave Culture tag as well as most of Fialleril's posts on tumblr and adore all of it. It inspired me to want to write something around the same paradigm, including the language. When I got stuck in an airport for three days, I decided to actually try my hand at a language and religion creation. This story came from it and I adore it.   
> Few things of note: Vader is suitless but not totally without scars from Mustafar. Both of his lungs are still damaged and he has breathing problems but no respirator. He uses a small oxygen modulator that he hides in his clothes. He also still has prosthetic legs.   
> Few canon things are moved up, didn't happen. Vader's flagship is the Executor, even though its canonically built much later. Because I have a soft spot for the Lady.  
> On the note of ships, the Tribunal doesn't crash in CW so the clones on board(Including Jesse) don't die. 
> 
> Content Warnings for this chapter:  
> *Child Slavery: nothing explicit, except that Luke is literally in chains. It alludes to forced child prostitution, pedophilia and noncon against a minor but never says anything explicit on it.   
> *Vader is kinda a warning on his own. He kills people, but not any more violently then you see in the actual movies.

Vader had been forced to do a lot of things in the last seven years of his life. Things that would have made him uncomfortable if he allowed himself to actually think of them. So he never did. He played the loyal lap dog and did as he was told. 

This though, this far surpassed uncomfortable. He had known it the moment he was given the assignment. He knew without the need of a thought, that the Emperor had realized as much himself. He was certain it was why he was being sent here in the first place. His Master wanted him to have that extra dose of pain to fuel the Darkside along. 

Except, Tatooine wasn’t just an extra dose of pain. It was more akin to continual, excruciating torture. Having to deal with Jabba the Hutt of all beings only made that torture worse. He knew it would take all of his control not to just end the miserable slug’s life. 

As the shuttle came to a stop, he let out a sigh and resituated the cloth mask over his lower face. He knew he would need the extra dose of oxygen to get through the forsaken landscape of this hellish dust bowl. He would not be suffocated by sand. He would rather be killed by a tooka, no matter how embarrassing. Though, he also had no intention of allowing the Hutt a single indication of his weakness. 

With the oxygen modulator on and hidden, he felt as ready to face the planet as he could be. He made sure his hood was also secure before reluctantly opening the shuttle to step down to the dust and sand. 

Two troopers followed after him, and with a quick brush of the Force he felt that it was Appo and Jesse. Good. His own loyal men would make this a much easier embarkment. He wouldn't worry about having to watch his back as well as deal with Jabba. Hopefully they could get the fake pleasantries over and done with soon and then leave. He wanted off of this hellscape the instant he could. 

The cursed planet was as hot and dry as he remembered. He had barely set foot on the sand and wanted to turn around. It was oppressive. It curled into the black of his robe and layers beneath like a predator's claws to its prey. He remained stoic in the face of it though. He would not let a single sentient know the extent of his discomfort. 

The troopers followed behind him in almost comfortable silence, despite the fact that they had to be as miserable as he. Sand within those suits could not have been a pleasant feeling. Vader was thankful for their silence though. It allowed him time to stew in peace. 

He made an attempt to drown out his surroundings by wrapping himself in the Darkside. He knew it was what he was supposed to do. What was expected of him. It was not as comforting as he had hoped. In fact, it did nothing to calm him at all. 

When they reached the slug’s home, he was hit by a feeling he wasn’t used to anymore. A feeling he had all but forgotten five years before. A feeling that did much more to calm him then the Darkside ever had. Warmth and light. Hidden within the palace walls was a miniature sun flooding the Force in its light. One he was, somehow, vaguely familiar with.

Curiosity and annoyance warred within him. How was there a Force sensitive presence he only thought he knew? It could not possibly be a Jedi hiding. He would have known the signature immediately. This one though, somehow felt like a balm to his burnt soul. Vader did not like it. What started as a comfort set his teeth on edge when he couldn't place its familiarity. 

He needed to find that light, that strange warmth. He needed to know why it felt so wrong to know that it was inside the palace of a Hutt. He didn’t know what he needed to do with the light once he found it, he just knew that he absolutely had to do so. 

The sun only grew stronger as he entered the palace. He wanted nothing more than to abandon his task and hunt it down. It was only with gritted teeth and the desire to avoid his Master’s ire that he prioritized his mission. Ridiculous posturing with disgusting slavers was never lower on his list of desires than it was in that moment. 

Enough so, that he decided to not even speak to the slug. He allowed Appo to greet him on Vader’s behalf. He had thought to do it himself, as the kingpin wouldn’t be expecting him to do so. Yet now that he was here, Vader wasn’t sure he could hold his tongue. Not when he wanted to flay the slaver alive, not worship it as so many were forced to do. 

When the protocol droid translated a very redacted version of Jabba’s derisive greeting, it was all he could do not to roll his eyes. Sometimes, he wished he wore a full face mask. The want to express his irritation to himself thrummed strongly. Especially with the incompetents he was forced to be around. Or the disgusting life forms like the one before him. 

However, this was taking far, far too long. When Jabba asked why they were seeking his audience in the pompous way only a Hutt could, Vader decided to speak up before Appo got a chance. Perhaps if they forwent the middle men, he could get this over with, find the hidden sun and get back to the Executor as soon as possible. 

“The Emperor sends his greetings,” he remarked in dry Basic. “He sent me to assure the continued allegiance of the Hutt clans.”

Jabba’s droid gave another cleaned up version of the gangster’s reply, but Vader was no longer paying attention. The sun had just entered the room. Attached to a chain that a Twi’lek passed off to Jabba. 

He was a young boy, likely no older than eight. If that. He was fair with very golden hair and something about him screamed through the Force at Vader. It rammed against his battered heart and pleaded with him to listen. To notice. Though notice what, Vader was unsure. 

When the boy looked up, his uncertainty vanished. He met Vader’s gaze with the brightest blue eyes. Bluer than the sky. Than the far too little amount of cloth wrapped around the boy’s waist. So blue, and so familiar. It was like looking into a mirror to the past. His chest hitched and he was certain his oxygen modulator had ceased working as he could not breathe.

“I see you’ve noticed my favorite slave.” Jabba declared with laughter in his voice. Vader didn’t even notice the droid repeating. “He’s good for many things, Lord Vader. Mechanics is his specialty, though he’s also my best little waiter. I’ve rented him out before, if you’re interested. For a variety of things, though some enjoy him for a bit more fun.” He chuckled again and Vader seethed. 

He ignored the slug entirely and addressed the young boy. “What is your name, child.” he asked him, the softness in his voice surprising even himself. 

The child hesitated and Jabba yanked the chain around his throat. “Answer him, boy!”

“Luke Skywalker, my lord.” he replied in a meek voice, eyes downcast. 

That anger that had been thrumming under his skin erupted like an inferno. Before he could stop himself, his hand was lifted and the Force was wrapping around Jabba’s throat. 

The slug gurgled and angry shouts exploded around them. Vader lashed out with his other hand, snapping the neck of any being aiming a blaster at him and his men. When they were no longer a threat he growled out in Huttese, “How long has he been here? Where did you get him?”

“What are you doing?” Jabba gasped and Vader tightened his grip. 

“Answer me!”

“Four years!” he exclaimed as much as he could. “Some farmer, Lars, sold him to pay his taxes. He’s about seven now. Good slave. If you want him, he’s yours Lord Vader! He’s just a slave! I’m sure we could work something out!”

“No.” Vader’s grip increased once more. Seven years. The boy was exactly who he thought he was and this slug would not live a moment longer for having harmed him. “He is no slave. He is my son.”

Jabba’s eyes managed to widen only a fraction before Vader twisted the Force and his lifeless body was crashing forward. Vader paid it no mind and immediately turned to face his child, though he did address his men first. 

“Release the slaves. Kill anyone who tries to stop you.”

“Yes, sir!”

As they hurried to follow his orders, Vader slowly knelt down, despite the twinge in his knees, so he was at the very small height of his son. _“E’assa ursee’ahs_.” He greeted in a language he was sure he had forgotten. 

The boy’s eyes went wide at the use of Huesmic and he began to fidget with the fabric at his waist. “Is, is that true?” he asked, “Are you really _usee’ahs_?”

Vader gave an immediate nod and lifted his flesh hand to run through Luke’s hair before gently resting it against his cheek. “Yes, little one. I am your father.”

“Why haven’t you come for me?” he asked in a small voice. 

“I am sorry, _ursee’ahs_. I thought you had perished with _rasee’iyais_.” 

The thought of her made his chest hurt as always, though this time a twinge of anger accompanied it. If their child had survived, he had not killed her on that damned planet. Sidious had lied. Now was not the time to dwell on such thoughts though. He had his very traumatized son to think of. 

Luke was staring at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “If you had known I was alive, would you have come for me?”

“In an instant.”

“And you want to take me with you now?”

“ _Ursee’ahs_ , I will never leave you behind again.”

Vader was barely able to brace himself before the small child was launching himself at him. He caught the boy, holding him as tightly as he dared. He was far too thin. Almost skin and bones even. It took all of his self control not to grit his teeth in anger at the fact. 

That control was almost snapped when he felt the collar around Luke’s neck dig into his shoulder. He didn’t hesitate to reach out with the Force and snap the offending metal in two. 

The release caused Luke to break out in sudden sobs. Vader removed the glove from his flesh hand in order to run the fingers softly through the boy’s hair. “You are free, Lukkeen. _Se’ae’a ursee’ahs_. You will never have to kneel before another. Never have to call another master again. I promise you.”

Luke nodded and buried his face in Vader’s shoulder, slender arms gripping tightly along his waist. Vader could not remember the last soft touch he had given, or received. It was hard to wrap the concept around his mind. Yet he couldn’t imagine touching Luke in anything but the softest embrace. 

He continued to comfort his son as Luke cried himself into exhaustion. Vader had no intention of ending the embrace until he did. He didn’t even want to look away from him, as he couldn’t bring himself to miss even one hitching rise and fall of his chest. He only removed his eyes from the child’s golden head when he heard his troopers' return. 

Vader looked up to them and Appo immediately gave a nod of his head. “The slaves have been liberated and slavers dealt with, my lord.”

“Good, remove your helmets. Your faces will put Luke more at ease.” 

Both men immediately did as requested, their nearly identical faces looking at him and his son with quiet intrigue. 

Vader gently lifted Luke into his arms and stood. As he got to his feet, he ran his hand gently down Luke’s back and said softly, “Luke, I’d like to introduce you to two friends of mine.”

He lifted his head and glanced at the two of them cautiously, “Hello.”

“Hi, Luke.” they chorused together. 

“This is Appo, and Jesse. I have something I need to do, but they’re going to take you to their brother. He is a medic and will make sure you are healthy. He will also get the chip out of you.”

Luke’s eyes went impossibly wide. “Really? You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Will you be gone long?” 

“No, _ursee’ahs_. You will likely still be with Kix when I return.”

“They’re your friends? You trust them?”

“I trust them with your life, Lukkeen.” he swore to him solemnly. “You have nothing to worry about from them.”

“You’ll come back soon?” he asked once more, voice still small and nervous. 

“Very. You will go with them to my ship and I will be there as quickly as I possibly can.”

Luke suddenly looked eager. “Ship! Like in space!”

“Yes, little one. The largest Super Star Destroyer in the Navy fleet.”

He gasped. “Really! And it's yours!”

“In a way, yes.”

“I want to see the stars! Can I?”

“You may see all the stars you like as soon as Kix clears you.”

Luke nodded eagerly and allowed Jesse to take him from Vader’s arms. As soon as he was situated, Vader leveled a very pointed look at the man holding him. 

“Protect him with your life, Jesse.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The two left the desolate palace and Vader turned to Appo. The commander’s lips tilted up in a small approximation of a smile. 

“He’s your son, isn’t he?”

“Yes.” Vader answered easily. “Though his name will likely only clue your brothers in on that fact. I’d like to keep it that way for now.”

“Yes, my lord.” Appo made to leave, but Vader’s call of his name stopped him. 

“Tell Kix, if at all possible, let Luke watch the chip removal.”

“I will.” he hesitated for a moment and then added, “where are you going, sir?”

“To get some answers.”


	2. In the Hands of the Desert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader confronts Owen Lars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who left comments and kudos! I'm loving writing this, and am so happy you're enjoying it as well!   
> Vader in this chapter may seem a bit less bloodthirsty and violent then canon Vader. I headcannon that he starts killing people for inconveniences after the tenth year anniversary of his family's death. So he has a bit more restraint and pieces of Anakin left inside him. The fact that he isnt stuck inside the Torture Suit helps. 
> 
> On that note, there is a specific Content Warning for what happens with Owen Lars, that is in the notes at the end.

Lars was not a name that Vader had ever thought he would have to hear again. After the loss of his mother, he wanted nothing to do with the family that had taken her from him. Now, the same family had almost taken his son as well. 

When Jabba had said he had taken Luke from a family called Lars, Vader could have decimated the whole palace to rubble. What did a lowlife moisture farmer think he was doing selling Vader’s son? Force, what right did Lars think he had having his son in his custody at all!

Vader needed to know. He needed answers to calm the roiling Darkside churning around him. So he was once again headed somewhere he had vowed to never return to. His mother’s resting place. 

When he reached the farm, he spared only a brief glance to where his mother rested. He could not bring his violent anger to her place of peace. Instead, he used the rage burning inside him to blast the door of the home off of its hinges. 

A scream and angry shout followed as it crashed inward. The sight that greeted him as he stalked inside was of a terrified Beru Whitesun and glowering Owen Lars. 

“Who do you think you are, storming in here like this! We paid Jabba our taxes! Now leave!”

“Who do  _ I  _ think I am!” Vader growled. “Let me ask you Lars; who do  _ you  _ think you are, selling children that are not yours!”

“Who are you? What business is it of yours!?”

“Answer me!” he practically roared back, the Darkside swirling around him dangerously.

“We had no choice!” Lars shouted in reply, finally realizing Vader wasn’t going to be cowed by him. “Jabba’s men would have killed us all. Indebting the kid saved my wife and I.”

“ _ Indebting!” _ Vader thundered. “Is that what you Freeborn call slavery? No wonder shoving Luke into a life of torture was nothing to you!”

He turned burning eyes on Beru. “Do you agree, Whitesun?”

“No.” she whispered near silently. “I begged him not to. I love Luke. I can’t stand the thought of him in chains.”

“We had no choice!” Lars snapped. 

“You  _ always _ have a choice!” Beru and Vader echoed together. The former in anger and latter in disgust. 

“You chose to save your own sorry hide and allowed an innocent child to suffer.” Vader continued with a sneer. “ _ My _ innocent child. Luke was the one with no choice. My mother had no choice when she married your father. Had she had the choice, my son never would have had even the  _ option  _ to end up on the same planet as you. Let alone in your custody! ”

“My father loved Shmi! He freed her!” Lars cried after the shocked expression left his face, though his skin stayed a ghostly paled white.

“So he could marry her!” Vader bellowed. “Do you truly think she had  _ a choice _ ! He freed her and married her and she was too afraid if she said no, she’d be right back in bondage. After all, a free man doesn’t need marriage to sleep with a pleasure slave.”

“My father would never! She loved him, just as much as he loved her!

“And you? Did you love her as a son should?”

“Of course!”

“Then why did you  _ sell her grandchild into bondage! _ ”

“Because I didn’t love him! You were no brother of mine, and I held nothing for you. He was just  _ your _ son that was forced onto us.” He yelled back. 

Beru let in a pained gasp and Vader hissed angrily through his teeth. “You are undeserving of the life you live. The freedom you take for granted. You could not be further from a Child of the Desert. You do not deserve your wife, do not deserve my son and certainly never deserved my mother.”

A heavy silence followed his curt declaration. Lars just continued to glare at him in a mixture of defiance and fear. Beru though, spoke up. 

Her voice was a strange mixture of fearful and hopeful as she asked in a near whisper, “Anakin, is it really you?” 

“I was, once.” he replied, lowering his mask so they could see his face. So they could know for sure he was who he said he was. That he had the right to bring retribution raining down around them.

“Now, I demand to know how my son came into your custody. Immediately.”

“That Jedi Kenobi left him when he told us you were dead.” Lars replied shortly, his arms crossing over his chest in contempt even as he backed away from Vader. 

Vader’s already thrumming anger pulsed violently, threatening to rip away from him and destroy everything in sight. Kenobi. Of course his former master was the one to steal his son away and allow him to be turned into a slave. 

“Where is he?” he managed to grit out through clenched teeth. 

“Gone. Left when he abandoned the kid here.” Lars’s reply was short, his posture tense. 

“What luck for him.” Vader growled, eyes narrowing on Lars. “If only you shared that luck.”

“Are you going to kill us?” Beru asked softly, her eyes almost accepting. 

Something in Vader couldn't damn her. He didn’t know if it was the memory of his mother, or if it was the one time he could remember having met her before. Beru had seemed more distraught at the loss of Shmi Skywalker than the Lars men had been. She had loved Shmi, and Shmi likely loved her. 

He couldn’t dishonour the love his mother shared. Not just for the former slave before him, but her waste of water husband. His mother had at one point meant everything to him. The little bit of the boy she had known that remained couldn’t kill, or even personally harm, someone that she loved. No matter how much he desired to. 

That desire only existed for Lars, however. Beru, he was happy to let live. No matter how accepting of death she seemed to be. 

So he gave a curt shake of his head. “No.” he once more covered his face and pointed to the gaping entrance. “Exit. Now.”

Beru hurried immediately out, Lars glared at him. Vader just returned the glare and stated, “Do not make me move you myself.”

Lars must have realized the stupidity in resisting as he stalked out the door, Vader right on his heels. The moment he was outside of the building, he reached out with the Force and brought the whole thing to rubble. 

He ignored Lars’s cry of outrage and continued his destruction by smashing up the man's speeder. He even reached out across the farm and broke the many vaporators into dust. When he knew nothing was left, he turned to face the two before him. 

“I do not have the time to make you suffer as you deserve, Owen Lars.” he told him with an icy finality to his words. “Nor would I, if only because of the love my mother had held for you. Your fate is in the hands of the Desert now. If you live, it is Her will. Though I do not count on it.”

He didn’t give him a chance to speak before he was turning to the man’s wife.”Beru Whitesun, you are a Daughter of the Desert. You did what you could to save my son from the fate your husband thrust upon him. You had love for Luke. It is that love that I need. Luke will require all the support he can get right now. If you so choose, I would like you to come with me.”

Her expression widened as he spoke, and despite the angry shout from her husband, she did not hesitate to nod. “Yes. I will go with you.”

“Beru!” Lars exclaimed. 

She gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Owen.  _ This  _ is my choice.”

“You can’t do this!” Lars screeched at Vader. “You can not steal my wife and leave me here to suffer!”

“I can do whatever I desire to you.” Vader hissed. “As I said before, I do not have time to bring your miserable life to an end as you deserve. I would love nothing more than to make you experience what life as a slave is like for four years in a matter of hours. Would relish in making you live through every lash, every broken bone, every hour of starvation that my child suffered needlessly because of your selfishness. You are luckier than words can say that I am not.

“As for your wife, like she said, this is her choice. You have walked your fated line. It is time that she walk hers.”

Vader didn’t give him a chance to speak once again, merely guided Beru to his speeder with her husband’s angry yelling chasing after them. 

“Anakin?” her voice was tentative when she spoke up. She had waited until the destroyed homestead was out of sight and Vader hoped she hadn’t changed her mind. 

“I will not apologize for your husband’s fate.” he told her bluntly. 

“I wouldn’t ask you to. Selling your child is unforgivable. You showed him mercy.”

“Whatever fate befalls him is too merciful.” he growled out, hand flexing on the controls in an effort not to crush them. 

“Yes,” she agreed softly. “What I wanted to ask is, what happened? Did you not know Luke was here?”

“I did not know Luke was alive.” he answered in a tone just as soft. “I thought he had died with my wife.”

“I’m sorry.” her hand fluttered in his peripheral like she wanted to touch him and changed her mind. “How is he?”

“Traumatized. Scared. Malnourished. He’s currently with my medic. We will get more answers once aboard the Executor.”

A faint noise left her mouth, he was unsure if it was surprise or agreement. He didn’t say anything in return and they remained silent until they reached the shuttle. 

It was there, staring out at the vast sky through the viewport that she spoke again. “I have never left Tatooine.”

“I had figured.” he replied bluntly, but not harshly. 

“It is oddly freeing.” her voice was near silent. So much, for a moment he was unsure he heard it. He wasn’t sure even that he was supposed to. 

He couldn’t stop himself from replying though. “Yes. It is.”

“Luke should never have been a slave.” she said suddenly. “Should never have been able to understand this feeling.”

“No, he shouldn’t have.” he should have never even been on Tatooine in the first place. He was the son of a Jedi. The son of a Queen. Not a moisture farmer, and certainly not a slave. Though, he said none of that to her despite it being true. 

“I’m sorry you missed the first years of his life.”

“As am I.” he looked over to her. “And I will not miss a day more. Nor, will you.”

They didn’t speak to each other again as the shuttle docked with the Executor. They were both too filled with apprehension at seeing Luke again to speak. 

He led her as quickly as he could to the medbay. To where he felt the shining star of his son’s presence. The moment they entered the space, she was flying away from him and to one of the bed’s tiny occupant. 

“Lukkeen!”

“Aunt Beru!”

Vader let them reunite. He couldn’t begrudge his son a moment of comfort. Despite how much he wanted to be the one holding the boy, he kept his distance for a time. Instead, he turned his head so he was half facing his star while he addressed his loyal medic. 

“Kix. Tell me, how bad is his condition?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Vader leaves Owen Lars to die of exposure in the desert after destroying his entire home. 
> 
> Thank you so very much for reading!! I am really sorry if you like Owen Lars. He and his father have always bothered me and it wasn't a hard step for me to make him even more of an ass. I love Beru though!! She'll become very important. I hope you all enjoyed and would love very much to hear from you!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so very much for reading! This whole thing is almost entirely written, so I will be updating every Thursday, including this Thursday 3/18/21.   
> Translations for my Tatooine Slave Language:  
> Huesmic-[hu-SEY-mik] Language of the Desert- Literal translation Desert Tongue  
> E'assa-[ey-AH-saw]- hello  
> Ursee'ahs-[ur-SHAY-ahs]-my son  
> Uses'ahs- [oo-SHAY-ahs] -father  
> Rasee'iyais- [raw-SHAY-ee-yahz]- mother  
> Se'ae'a- [sey-EE-a]- free  
> Lukkeen- Of the Sun
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, I'd very much love to hear from you!


End file.
